Lobster Arancinni
It is true. Anthony and I are trying to be healthier in 2020 and beyond. We are currently 5 days into dry January and my latest obsession is gut health and eating more plants. I’m proud of all our endeavors but balance is the key to success so this week I grabbed a pack of frozen lobster, mixed it with some leftover rice and made these deep-fried cheesy babies.
Technically, arancini are made with arborio rice, a great way to use up leftover risotto. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any arborio rice to spare so I went with plain old jasmine rice that was a few days old and stale. I know what your thinking, stale rice? Hear me out. Day old, cold rice is ideal for things like arancini and fried rice because it is already cooked and the starches have had time to settle and solidify. This means that when you fry them up, the rice gets extra crispy and you get extra credit for making such crispy rice.
These balls are not for the faint of heart and should not be logged in to whatever calorie tracker you downloaded on New Year’s Day. These are treat-yourself snacks to be indulged in and shared. You don’t have to invite friends over when you make these but you would end up being the favorite in your group.
The gochujang aioli used here is also superb with eggs, on sandwiches, wraps, whatever, so double the recipe and have some extra for later in the week.
Lobster Arancini with Gochujang Aioli
Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup gochujang
1 cup chopped lobster meat (about 1lb, or two lobsters)
3 cups cooked jasmine rice
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1/2 cup fontina, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, divided
1 cup flour
Directions
In a small mixing bowl whisk the mayonnaise and gochujang until pale orange in color and there aren’t any chunks of gochujang remaining. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the lobster meat, rice, cilantro, fontina, mozzarella, and two eggs. Add 2/3 cup of the breadcrumbs and form into 16 1 - 2-inch balls and set aside.
Whisk the remaining egg with a little water and pour into a wide shallow bowl. Place the flour and remaining breadcrumbs in a shallow separate shallow bowls as well.
Dredge the balls first in flour, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Set each finished ball on a parchment lined tray and allow them to cool for one hour before cooking.
Fill a large pot with 2 inches of oil and heat until a thermometer reads 350. Working in batches, fry each ball until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and all to drain on paper towels. Season with flaky salt and serve.
